Gun rally on MLK Day not appreciated

Published: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 2:24 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 2:24 p.m.

Now that the emotions of the Newtown shootings have lessened, the debate over gun control has begun in earnest.

I knew that this would not be an easy thing to accomplish because the one thing that adamant gun rights supporters are known for is their unmovable convictions and their unwillingness to even consider discussing altering gun regulations. Given that insurmountable opposition, it is not surprising that not much headway has taken place in keeping guns out of the hands of irresponsible and dangerous people.

Lawmakers who support the view that it is way too easy for someone to walk into a school and massacre 20 children have proposed limiting the number of rounds in magazine clips and banning assault rifles in an effort to at least minimize the damage that automatic weapons can do. Gun rights supporters oppose this because … because … well, I'm not sure.

OK, after consulting Google, it seems there are three basic arguments: 1. Assault rifles are already banned and the new legislation would affect commonly used guns for self-protection. 2. Banning automatic weapons only hurts the law-abiding and not criminals 3. Any limitation of gun ownership is restriction of citizens' Second Amendment rights. Regardless of my personal opinion, both sides have legitimate arguments to this debate. I also cannot dispute that both sides have come forth in heated support of their cause.

In true American fashion, when you feel strongly about something what do you do? You gather a bunch of like-minded people and form a protest group. You carry signs; sing songs; form petitions; and make speeches to support or oppose the new regulations. That is truly one of the cornerstones of living in a free country. Other countries might copy us, but no one does it quite as well as we do. We should all take advantage of our freedom of speech to make our opinion heard.

But I was totally taken aback when I heard that the NRA held multiple gun appreciation day rallies on the Martin Luther King Holiday. Really? You are honestly going to hold a rally to support gun rights on the day set aside to commemorate this country's most powerful civil rights leader who happened to be assassinated — by a gun? Are you kidding me? There are 364 other days in the year they could have picked. Does anyone else think this is in incredibly bad taste?

Things like this makes gun rights supporters seem unreasonable. There is a distinct undertone of disrespect to their actions that lends support to the popular belief that many gun owners are intolerant of other races, religions and beliefs. Or they are belligerent and incapable of having a civil discussion without reverting to intimidation. It is exactly this kind of hostile behavior that makes the rest of us nervous. Do we really want a person who is aggressive and intolerant owning a weapon capable of killing dozens within seconds?

It also doesn't help your argument if you come across as impractical. No one is coming after your only means of self-protection in an effort to leave you vulnerable to their socialistic governmental takeover. They are only trying to put regulations in place to keep more innocent people from losing their lives by limiting the number of bullets and how many are shot at a time.

Now I can hear the howls of protest that there are plenty of upstanding, responsible and reasonable gun owners in this country who only own a firearm for their own protection. These people follow the rules and are vigilant about keeping their gun in a secure location. They are stable citizens who will hopefully never have the need to revert to using their gun. I have no problem with someone owning a gun for their personal protection, but there is a big difference between owning a handgun and having a cache of multi-round, military-style weapons.

It is up to the lawmakers to fight this one out, so I will make sure that all of my local and national government representatives know my personal opinion when it comes to gun regulation. I think most people just want to live peaceful lives and are willing to find a compromise between self-protection and the protection of all. We just need to be willing to listen to each other and realize that someone's right to bear arms does not supersede someone's right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

Sharon Myers is a married mother of two. She is a graduate of Lexington Senior High and received her bachelor's degree in journalism from East Carolina University.

<p>Now that the emotions of the Newtown shootings have lessened, the debate over gun control has begun in earnest. </p><p>I knew that this would not be an easy thing to accomplish because the one thing that adamant gun rights supporters are known for is their unmovable convictions and their unwillingness to even consider discussing altering gun regulations. Given that insurmountable opposition, it is not surprising that not much headway has taken place in keeping guns out of the hands of irresponsible and dangerous people.</p><p>Lawmakers who support the view that it is way too easy for someone to walk into a school and massacre 20 children have proposed limiting the number of rounds in magazine clips and banning assault rifles in an effort to at least minimize the damage that automatic weapons can do. Gun rights supporters oppose this because … because … well, I'm not sure. </p><p>OK, after consulting Google, it seems there are three basic arguments: 1. Assault rifles are already banned and the new legislation would affect commonly used guns for self-protection. 2. Banning automatic weapons only hurts the law-abiding and not criminals 3. Any limitation of gun ownership is restriction of citizens' Second Amendment rights. Regardless of my personal opinion, both sides have legitimate arguments to this debate. I also cannot dispute that both sides have come forth in heated support of their cause. </p><p>In true American fashion, when you feel strongly about something what do you do? You gather a bunch of like-minded people and form a protest group. You carry signs; sing songs; form petitions; and make speeches to support or oppose the new regulations. That is truly one of the cornerstones of living in a free country. Other countries might copy us, but no one does it quite as well as we do. We should all take advantage of our freedom of speech to make our opinion heard.</p><p>But I was totally taken aback when I heard that the NRA held multiple gun appreciation day rallies on the Martin Luther King Holiday. Really? You are honestly going to hold a rally to support gun rights on the day set aside to commemorate this country's most powerful civil rights leader who happened to be assassinated — by a gun? Are you kidding me? There are 364 other days in the year they could have picked. Does anyone else think this is in incredibly bad taste?</p><p>Things like this makes gun rights supporters seem unreasonable. There is a distinct undertone of disrespect to their actions that lends support to the popular belief that many gun owners are intolerant of other races, religions and beliefs. Or they are belligerent and incapable of having a civil discussion without reverting to intimidation. It is exactly this kind of hostile behavior that makes the rest of us nervous. Do we really want a person who is aggressive and intolerant owning a weapon capable of killing dozens within seconds?</p><p>It also doesn't help your argument if you come across as impractical. No one is coming after your only means of self-protection in an effort to leave you vulnerable to their socialistic governmental takeover. They are only trying to put regulations in place to keep more innocent people from losing their lives by limiting the number of bullets and how many are shot at a time.</p><p>Now I can hear the howls of protest that there are plenty of upstanding, responsible and reasonable gun owners in this country who only own a firearm for their own protection. These people follow the rules and are vigilant about keeping their gun in a secure location. They are stable citizens who will hopefully never have the need to revert to using their gun. I have no problem with someone owning a gun for their personal protection, but there is a big difference between owning a handgun and having a cache of multi-round, military-style weapons.</p><p>It is up to the lawmakers to fight this one out, so I will make sure that all of my local and national government representatives know my personal opinion when it comes to gun regulation. I think most people just want to live peaceful lives and are willing to find a compromise between self-protection and the protection of all. We just need to be willing to listen to each other and realize that someone's right to bear arms does not supersede someone's right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. </p><p>Sharon Myers is a married mother of two. She is a graduate of Lexington Senior High and received her bachelor's degree in journalism from East Carolina University.</p>